


Balmeran or Not

by Nick_sterz



Series: Voltron High School AU [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Birthday, F/M, Fluff, Human Allura (Voltron), Human Shay (Voltron), Love Confessions, POV Third Person, cute shit for Hunks Birthday, it's fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-14
Updated: 2018-01-14
Packaged: 2019-03-04 17:10:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,757
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13369305
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nick_sterz/pseuds/Nick_sterz
Summary: Hunk realizes that he has feelings for someone and Allura is here to help! Join in on their adventure to help Hunk be the brave paladin he already is!





	Balmeran or Not

**Author's Note:**

> Hunks birthday is here! And what better way to celebrate than to share this stand alone chapter from my Voltron High School AU? I have a bunch of these stand alone shorts that bring the story together, so I'll try to upload those to get a better idea of the AU in general, but until then- LET'S READ THIS ONE :D  
> Hope you enjoy! Be sure to let me know you read it on tumblr/twitter: @nikkst3rz or in the comments <3

At the end of the club meeting, Hunk snatched Allura before they parted ways and asked,

“Allura, I need you to help me with finding something. It’s really important to me.” He clapped his hands together and squeezed his eyes as tight as he could.  
“I don’t know Hunk. If it’s another hunt for a sandwich at a bakery, you’re on your own. Unless you get me a milkshake!” Her face lit up with the possibility of getting a milkshake, and she continues, “Well, what do you need me for? Out with it.”   


A large inhale was then followed with, “I need to find a jewelry shop that sells balmeran crystals… Or rather, in earring form… as soon as possible.” Allura looks very interested since she also loves sparkly things. “Ohh, you don’t say?” She leans in, “Whom might these balmeran earrings be for? Your mom? Grandma? OH WAIT I KNOW-”

  
“ALLURA- you need to study up on these rock formations or else you’ll fail the geo. class haha ha haa-” He grabs her shoulder to swing her to the door, revealing a surprise Shay. “Why don’t we go to our place and Lance and I can help you study? Oh hey Shay! Didn’t see you there!” He is sweating bullets, worried that his plan is blown. Shay, still with the shocked expression, takes out her earbuds.

 

“Hunk! Allura! You leaving to head home? Sorry, I had my earbuds in and I couldn’t hear you. I only heard muffled shouting which… had me concerned… and…yeah. Hunk? Are you ok? Um...” Allura turns to her friend to find him blushing and looking as if he’s about to hurl.  


“Oh, you know Hunk. He probably ate too much delicious food and his stomach is tormenting him for it. But yeah, we finished our meeting a while ago and I need to steal Hunk to help me with tutoring. We’ll catch you tomorrow then? Ok, have a lovely evening Shay!”  


They both race out and leave Shay still near the club doorway and hear her shout, “Well, be sure to get better soon Hunk! And good luck with the tutoring Allura! Tell Lance I said hello!”

 

* * *

 

The two begin the search by looking up jewelers nearby and go from there. It took them three tries and Hunk was already ready to throw the towel. “I don’t know Allura, we’ve looked at * _several_ * jewelry stores to find not an ounce of balmeran crystal. I don’t think anyone in the city will have it.” He plops himself onto a bench from the path they were walking. At some point they took a turn into a park, probably for a shortcut. Allura sits down next to him, exhausted.   
“Well, to be fair, we did only go look at four jewelry shops. And yes, this is tiring. We have shoes meant for class, not for exercising. Wait a tic, you never told me who these earrings are for! They are for Shay, right?”

  
“Of course it’s for Shay. I only hope she will like it, and maybe…” He mumbles the other half.

  
“Huuunk, I can’t understand you while you go into turtle mode. Release your true feelings! No one but I is around! Be free young chef!”   


“I think I’m in love with Shay. And it’s not just a recent new found love. It’s…something that’s grown from me knowing her since we were kids… I- I can’t tell her- oh God I’m already crying! Look at me! NO wait! Don’t look at me!” He drops his head into his hands and bawls his eyes out. Allura rested her hands on his back, one rubbing circles and another holding him to let him know that she was here for him.  


“Hunk, you’re in love! That’s a great thing! Don’t lose that feeling! I could see that you two have something that’s not going away. It seems that you need to be the one to push forward though, and let her decide. It’s not going to be easy, but it’s better than possibly losing her to someone else, isn’t it?”  


“Yeah, but what if she doesn’t see me as relationship material? Then I not only lose someone I love, but a friend as well. I don’t want to risk that bond we created and took care of all these years.” He picks up his head and begins to wipe away the tears. Allura hands him a pack of tissues to help, and he takes it with a soft smile. Allura could tell that he was remembering those memories with Shay. Poor guy, he’s fallen hard.   


“Can I share a story with you?” He nods, “It’s actually about how my father met my mother. They met at Altea Academy, and he went to that same school with her for four years, and before they graduated, my father went through the same dilemma as you are going through right now. And my Uncle Coran walked home with my father and told him, ‘You’ll never truly be happy unless you convey your feeling to her, you know? She’s a smart one, but love always flies right by her. She loves you just as much as you love her, I can see it my bro. This relationship might still be growing, but it’s best to take the next leap, that way you’ll be falling for eachother all over again! How great is that?!’” He looks at her and then down to his hands.   


“I love Shay.”

“Yes, you do. And what are you going to do about it?” He stands up and straightens his back. Inhales, exhales-

  
“I LOVE SHAY AND I’M GOING TO TELL HER!”

  
“THAT’S THE SPIRIT HUNK!” She gets up alongside him and smacks his back so hard he tumbles forward. “Now, let’s go find those earrings, yeah?”

  
“Yeah, let’s do this! There’s one more shop down the street.” He and Allura head that way and behind them in the distance is Shay, with the biggest and goofiest smile she could wear.

 

* * *

 

Hunk holds the door open for Allura as she walks in with a hello. A man who seems to be in his forties walks out from the back of the shop. “Welcome to Antique but Valuable Jewelers. How can I help you?” His voice is harsh but kind, like those tough men who actually have a very soft center.  


“Oh, I’m here to help my friend here look for some balmeran crystal earrings, do you happen to have any?” Hunk pops out from behind Allura, even though he was visible, and waves.  
“Hello sir, yes, sorry to come in right before closing time.” He sheepishly walks in and takes in the whole shop.   
The shop was small and about the size of an average home. The bottom front half of the floor held the shop while the back and top floor held the residency. In the shop were outfits from what seemed to be the roaring 20’s- strings of jewels hang from sequined dresses and some old tacky tourist shirts that looked untouched. There were also mirrors for people who wanted to try on the outfits, and a booth by the register with jewelry and some household items in the front by the window. 

The part that caught his eyes the most would be the ceiling. It was hand painted with balmeran crystals along the borders and scattered with purple hydrangeas. The shrubs painted in also had pieces of gold leaf that added a shine and whimsical touch. That was what Shay loved about the bameran crystals, they always had this mysterious yet warm aura. It looked a bit dull though, as if it aged along with the house.   


“That painting was made by my mother. She loves the balmeran crystals.” He leans on his hand planted into the front desk by the jewelry and waves him over.

  
“My… my friend does too, that’s why I’m looking for the earrings. I know it would mean something to her.” He makes eye contact with the owner and begins to blush. Who would’ve guessed the man was easy to talk to? He doesn’t look like it though, but he seemed familiar to Hunk.  
  
“Well, about those earrings. I think you’re in luck, my friend.” Allura and Hunk race to the display case and scan the booth. And there they were, balmeran crystals. There’s a pair of earrings that are pure crystal shaped into hoops held to the ear by silver studs, one gold necklace with drops of crystal along the base of the chain, and stacked rings that have bits of crystal and silver wire wrapped around to hold the crystals in place.

“These are amazing, did you make these yourself?” Allura kneels down to get a better look at them. “I wish, but a jeweler from the other side of town makes them and I sell them. I’ve been doing this with him for about a good twenty-five years.”

Hunk joins Allura to admire the craftsmanship. “How, how much are the earrings?” They look like they could cost hundreds, maybe- if Hunk was lucky enough maybe a hundred, but that’s cutting his limit short, maybe he could borrow from Allura and- “Fifty bucks.” Hunk  looks up-  
“I’m sorry sir, how much? I think I misheard you.”

“Fifty dollars.”

“WHAT?!” Hunk and Allura scream in unison. The shop owner then looks surprised. “Is that a problem?” Hunk takes a look back at the earrings and back up to the owner, “No! Quite the opposite!” he shouts.

“We both expected it to be much more than what you're offering them for!” Allura chimes in.

  
“Well, I could bring up the price-”

“WE LIKE THE ORIGINAL OFFER, SIR.” The two of them lean over the counter, causing the owner to laugh his heart out.

“No, but in all seriousness. I can tell- with that look you had when you mentioned your friend… Your eyes gave it away- that you have strong feelings for this friend. I can tell you’re also in high school- given the uniform. So I’m lowering the price- the jeweler that allows me to sell his work always says, ‘If it’s for true love, give it to them at a reasonable price. If you can tell, then give them an offer they can’t refuse.’”

  
“That sounds like it’s supposed to go the other way around. Thank you for this amazing offer.” Hunk looks as if he’s about to cry, he was at the brink of calling it quits, but Allura and this owner have been kind and supportive. “I don’t know you, but you’re showing me this much kindness. I’m truly grateful, thank you.” He goes to pull out his wallet and the owner pulls out the earrings. They glimmer in the sunset filled room causing Allura to look around. “I feel that I’ve met you before, but I can’t remember where.” The owner says.

Allura leaves the booth to take a closer look at the clothing “You both probably crossed paths around the city somewhere. It’s bound to have happened.” Hunk hands the owner a bank card and he rings him up.  
“Either way, I was also in a similar situation you are currently facing. You might be thinking ‘Oh, she’ll never love me unless I give her this piece of jewelry, but that’s not the case. If she’s got you making those faces and going at great lengths to find this, then she will be happy with or without the jewelry.” He hands the card back to Hunk, “And as I just said that, please sign here.” along with the card he also is given two receipts.  
Hunk goes to sign and he blurts out, “I’ve known for a while now that I love her. I get frustrated when I hear others talk about her behind her back, when others talk about her body and stare at her. I want to protect her and make sure she’s safe. She has always been there for me, protecting me while I was that chubby kid trying to be friends with the others while I knew it wasn’t going to be easy. Eating my food even if it’s bad, she still eats it with a smile.”

 

He smiles even brighter as he continues, “She says it’s all in my head, that I’m a master chef and I’m going to be going places. I want her with me while I’m going there, I want her to be happy and doing what she wants to do in her life as well...I want her to know how I feel… in hopes that we can be more than just childhood friends… and not lose one another overtime.”

 

His smile fades slightly, “I think that even if she doesn’t feel the same towards me, she would still want to be friends and we would probably be friends forever, but I don’t want to sit around thinking about something that could’ve been a possibility for the rest of my life.”  
I want to know, and I think we’ve given it enough time. I was uncertain these last few months, but…. Now I’m sure. Thank you for helping me get one step closer to it, and for taking the time to listen to me ramble, even after the shop is closed too.” He gives the owner a big and bright smile, and the owner thought of a sunflower as he saw his smile grow.

“Just, tell her how you truly feel. Take it one step at a time, you’re both still in high school after all. You both have a lot of growing up to do.” He hands Hunk the earrings placed in a silver box with a blue ribbon stuck on the top.

* * *

 

 

The two race out and wave goodbye leaving the store owner sighing and walking up to lock the door. As he locks it, he could see Hunk running faster than he looked like he could, and Allura keeping up without a problem. He chuckles and walks to the back to head into his home and relax. As he rounds the hall in the back, he notices a picture on the wall that has been up for years. He squints and looks at the picture. There sits a six year old Shay, her overalls and neatly placed hair buns with a boy that is in a sailor suit looking like he was ready to upchuck. That looks like the boy that just walked into the store, he thought. And suddenly Shay’s father remembers Hunk coming over to play with Shay. Shay going over to be looked after by Hunks mother while they were at work, before the shop was theirs.

Hunk...is in love with his daughter. Hunk knew that Shay loves balmeran crystals, he knew that Shay already has balmeran crystals in her collection and what better than to give her earrings. Shays father thought of giving them to her if they didn’t sell by the end of the week. Looks like she’ll get them after all. He takes a seat in the back kitchen, where there’s a round table and takes a long sigh. His daughter, is in very capable and caring hands and that’s the best feeling in the world. She’s strong, she’s brave, and she is loved by so many. He knew his daughter is going places, it’s good to know that she has someone who loves her dearly that wants to be there with her. He just hopes that Hunk’s stomach becomes stronger overtime. Wait, how did Hunk not know about the shop? Surely Shay mentioned it, maybe she kept it a secret so that no one would treat her differently. She did move into the dorms nearby so that the commute will be easier, and they did just start living here a few months ago after grandma needed help around the shop…maybe she just never found the time.

 

* * *

 

 

Hunk runs back to the dorm grounds bending over and lifting his arms up to try and catch his breath. He looks at Allura who barely broke a sweat. “Bruh, what is wrong with you? We just sprinted across town! That’s a good 2 miles at _least._ ”

 

“I’ve been running around this city all my life. Gotta keep in shape for them shoots, ya know?” She brings up one of her sleeves and flexes her muscles, revealing a rather large muscle.

“No, I don’t know… And I don’t want to know, that’s too much work. My work is strictly for cooking, and maybe building some things every now and again.”  
“Well, now what lover boy? You have the earrings, all you need now is-”

 

“Hunk!” Allura and Hunk look up to see Shay outside her dorm. She changed into her everyday clothing and looked a little red, but that might’ve been because of the time and all.

 

“Now’s your chance Hunk, go get ‘er!” she smacks his back with the same force as she did earlier and stung as much as the first time, but this smack lingered and pushed him towards the stairs. “Meet her half way.” After that Allura waves at Shay and walks off to Campus to hang out with Coran and her father.

 

“Shay, can you come down for a while?” He looks up to make eye contact, and it’s a bit easier now than it was earlier.

 

“Yeah, Lemme grab my keys.” She runs back in and out in a flash, heading down the stairs. Hunk did as Allura advised and meet her half way. “OH!” she didn’t expect him there and ran into him. She was still as red as ever and backed away rather quickly. Hunk realized, it wasn’t the sun that made her red…

 

“Hey um… how are you?” He rubs his hands along his hips, but doesn’t feel like he needs to throw up. He was nervous, but excited.

“Oh, uhm… I-I’m good, how’s-s your stomach treating you?” She avoids eye contact and backs up all the way so that they are across from one another in the small turn for the next level of stairs. The information she heard earlier was causing her heart to beat out of her chest. Every moment with Hunk made it beat faster and harder.

“I’m doing… much better. Beyond better than I felt earlier, thanks for asking. I, Shay-?” Hunk takes a step towards Shay and she brings her head up to face him. Their eyes meet and Hunk can see how nervous she looks. He begins to worry that he caught her at a bad time. “Are you alright?”

 

“Yes! I just, feel a bit warm is all. I think I might be getting sick. You should stay on your side of the area… yeah, that side.” She points out an invisible line separating the two areas.  
  
“Shay, you know I don’t get sick. I am a tank against the common cold. Why don’t I-”  


“Not the common cold, silly… I mean… I might be a bit, love sick.” She covers her mouth and then buries her face into her arms and lowers herself to her knees. Hunk looks at her with his mouth open, still trying to process what she said.  


“Oh! OH l-love sick, eh? Seems like it’s hit you pretty hard.” He sits himself down next to her quietly so that she won’t freak out. “Wh…” He doesn’t want to ask, in fear that it might not be him. He loves her so much though that he continues, “Who’s the lucky guy or gal who stole your heart… from me?” She looks up and meets Hunks eyes once more. Hunk can hear her hold her breath and Shay could hear Hunk do the same. Both at the brink of tears, Shay opens her mouth.  
  
“You know who he is. He makes amazing foods, and insists it’s never good enough for me. He helps me with math every now and again and has been with me since I was six years old. I used to help him fight back against the bullies, but he insisted on letting them try to be friends first, and to not fight back. We got in trouble so many times together, that the teachers refused to let us be in the same classroom. We used to be so close, and now we barely see each other, and that part hurts the most. I miss him... I miss you, Hunk.” Her tears begin to roll down her face and Hunk takes a deep breath, and drops his head to her shoulder. 

 

“You don’t know how happy I am when I see you in school, when we get the chance to talk. Even though it’s brief, I’m still so relieved that we have a connection. I don’t want to lose that, I want it to grow, Shay... I want what we had back in the past, and so much more. I want… I want you to be with me. If you can bear with me trying to maintain my stomach issues and all the other things wrong with me.” He reaches in his bag and pulls out the box and hands it to Shay.

 

“HUNK IS THIS A RI-!”  
  
“NO- OMG WE ARE HIGH SCHOOLERS!” The two sit there beet red and at this point ready to pop. Shay wastes no time in opening the box and unwraps the tissue holding the gift. She is then sitting with her mouth partially open.

 

“H...Hunk these are beautiful. They are balmeran crystal too. Oh my.” She looks up at him and back down at the earrings. “I hope you know that… I still love you- jewelry or not. I love you for who you are. Faults and all, even though it’s not a fault but rather a cute charm.” She lays a kiss on his cheek, “It’s your birthday tomorrow, and we are going on a date. No excuses. No tag along friends, just us two on a date.”

 

Hunk is then staring into the unknown because the girl he loves just kissed his cheek. She wants to go out for his birthday, just the two of them. She thinks his faults are apart of his charm. Is she really talking about Hunk or some other dude? He comes to when he feels soft hands cupping his head. “Hunk, can I kiss you?” He is literal putty in her hands as he leans into her and whispers-

 

“You’ve stolen my heart already, what difference does a kiss make?” And meets Shays lips.


End file.
